The association between obesity/overweight and demographical characteristics in Northern Saudi Arabia

Background: Many factors have been claimed to contribute to the increased rates of obesity/overweight in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the association between obesity/overweight and demographical characteristics in Northern Saudi Arabia. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional survey that included 315 volunteers living in the city of Hai'l, Northern Saudi Arabia were included during October 2020. Both Saudi and non-Saudi civilians were included in the study. The participants were randomly selected by a simple random method regardless of age, gender, or other demographical characteristics. Results: The present study investigated 315 volunteers (281 males and 34 females) aged 17 to 56 years with a mean age +/- STD= 21.2 +/- 6.1. The body mass index (BMI) ranged from 14.9 to 47.88with a mean of 26.12 +/- 6.3. Obesity and overweight represented 75/315(24%), and 109/315(35%) in this order, as shown in Fig 1. About 65/381(23%), and 100/281(36%) of the males were obese and overweight, respectively, whereas, 10/34(29.4%) and 9/34(26.5%) were obese and overweight in that order. Conclusion: Obesity/overweight still prevalent in Northern Saudi Arabia. Living in urban areas, being married, educated, having a high family income, and an employee is a risk of gaining weight (Obesity/overweight).